Graduate Courses, 2010-2011

Classics

30200. North Africa: Late Antiquity to Islam. (=Hist 25701, CLCV 20200) Examination of topics in continuity and change from the third through ninth centuries CE, including changes in Roman, Vandalic, Byzantine, and early Islamic Africa. Topics include the waning of paganism and the respective spread and waning of Christianity, the dynamics of the seventh-century Muslim conquest and Byzantine collapse. Transformation of late antique North Africa into a component of Islamic civilization. Topography and issues of the autochthonous populations will receive some analysis. Most of the required reading will be on reserve, for there is no standard textbook. Readings in translated primary sources as well as the latest modern scholarship. Final examination and 10-page course paper. W. Kaegi. Autumn.

31200. History and Theory of Drama I. (=CLCV 21200, CMLT 20500/30500, ENGL 13800/31000, TAPS 28400) May be taken in sequence with ENGL 13900/31100 or individually. This course is a survey of major trends and theatrical accomplishments in Western drama from the ancient Greeks through the Renaissance: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, medieval religious drama, Marlowe, Shakespeare, and Jonson, along with some consideration of dramatic theory by Aristotle, Horace, Sir Philip Sidney, and Dryden. The goal is not to develop acting skill but, rather, to discover what is at work in the scene and to write up that process in a somewhat informal report. Students have the option of writing essays or putting on short scenes in cooperation with other members of the class. End-of-week workshops, in which individual scenes are read aloud dramatically and discussed, are optional but highly recommended. D. Bevington, H. Coleman. Autumn.

34306. Byzantine History 330—610. (HIST 21701, CLCV 24306) A lecture course, with limited discussion, of the formation of early Byzantine government, society, and culture. Although a survey of event and changes, including external relations, many of the latest scholarly controversies will also receive scrutiny. There will be some discussion of relevant archaeology and topography. No prerequisite. Readings will include some primary sources in translation and examples of modern scholarly interpretations. Final examination and a short paper. W. Kaegi. Autumn.

34307. Byzantine History 610-1025. (Hist 21702, CLCV 24307) A lecture course, with limited discussion, of the principle developments with respect to government, society, and culture in the Middle Byzantine Period. Although a survey of event and changes, including external relations, many of the latest scholarly controversies will also receive scrutiny. No prerequisite. Readings will include some primary sources in translation and examples of modern scholarly interpretations. Final examination and a short paper. W. Kaegi. Spring.

34406. War and Society in Antiquity. (=HIST 20402/30402, CLCV 24406) In this course we will study the interplay between warfare and the political, social, and economic structures of the ancient Mediterranean world. We will explore topics such as the motivations for and ideology of armed conflict, the relationship between military organization and civic structure, and the impact of hegemonic and imperial expansion on both the conquerors and the conquered. The course readings will incorporate foundational modern perspectives, but will emphasize ancient sources in translation. C. Hawkins. Winter.

34810. Urban Life and Social Structure in Imperial Rome. (CLCV 24810, ARTH 20910/30910) Ancient literature paints a vivid picture of urban life in Imperial Rome. We know more about Rome's topography, administration and economy than about any other city in the ancient Mediterranean. Still, the social organization and living conditions of ordinary Romans are, in large part, a matter of conjecture. Here, new archaeological and epigraphic studies can help to arrive at a less elite-focused understanding of Rome's urbanism. E. Mayer. Autumn.

34910. All about Varro. (=CLCV 24910) Marcus Terentius Varro was not only a Roman Senator and soldier, but also the most prolific scholar of Latin antiquity, whose writings embraced the study of religion, language, literary history, and other fields. This course offers a survey of his life and work, accompanied by a reading (in English) of as much as possible of what he wrote. P. White. Winter.

35210. Greek and Roman Slavery. (HIST, CLCV 25210) While Classical Greece and Rome were among the few civilizations in world history in which slavery permeated all aspects of society, evidence for many aspects of slavery in antiquity is sparse. In this course, we will explore slavery in ancient Greece and Rome in its social, cultural, and economic contexts, with particular emphasis on the methodological challenges that arise from the nature of the evidence. All sources will be read in translation. C. Hawkins. Autumn.

35507. Ancient Greek Mystery Cults. (=CLCV 25507) This course will examine the major mystery cults of the Greek and Roman worlds, beginning with the Eleusinian and Samothracian mysteries and ending with the cults of Isis and Mithras. C. Faraone. Winter.

35606. Lucretius and Karl Marx. (=CLCV 25606, FUND 24211) Lucretius was a follower of Epicurus, whom Marx called "the greatest representative of Greek enlightenment". In his poem On the Nature of Things, Lucretius seeks to convert his fellow Romans to an Epicurean way of life. He explains in detail what the world is made of (atoms) and that there is no reason to fear the gods or death. Marx wrote his doctoral dissertation on Epicurus and Lucretius. He was especially enthusiastic about the idea, which was developed by Lucretius, that humans are free to shape their own lives. E. Asmis. Winter.

36010. Ancient Caravan Cities. (=CLCV 26010) Many cities of the Roman East were shaped by vibrant inter-regional trade. It has been suggested that they should be understood in analogy to the Caravan Cities of the Islamic Period. This course attempts to test this hypothesis. We will analyze the economy and rich religious and cultural cityscapes of Near Eastern Cities from Apameia on the Orontes to Dura Europos. E. Mayer. Winter.

36200. Visual Culture of Roman and her Empire. (CLCV 26200, ARTH 2/36806) This general survey of Roman material culture will use the archaeological evidence complementary to literary sources in order to delineate the development of Roman society in the first three centuries CE. Urban planning, public monuments, political imagery, and the visual world of Roman cities, houses and tombs will be discussed in relationship to the political and social processes that shaped their formal development. E. Mayer. Autumn.

38401. Comparative Metrics. (=CMLT 28401/38401, CLCV 28401) This class offers an overview of major European systems of versification, with particular attention to their historical development. We will be particularly concerned with Graeco-Roman quantitative metrics, its afterlife, and the evolution of Germanic and Slavic verse. In addition to analyzing the formal properties of verse, we will inquire into their relevance for the articulation of poetic genres and, more broadly, the history of literary (and sub-literary) systems. No prerequisites, but a working knowledge of one European language besides English is strongly recommended. B. Rodin. Spring.

39510. Rousseau, Classical Primitivism, and the Plains Indian critique of modernity (=SCTH 39600) Rousseau, in A Discourse on Inequality, takes Classical political theory as the starting point for his investigation into what kind of society is best for human beings. But as he attempts to bridge the “immense space” separating savage man from man in civic society, and to imaginatively reconstruct the lost and forgotten paths that led human beings to surrender the virtues of the former state for the vices of the latter, he supplements his arguments from antiquity with examples drawn from the societies of the New World. Rousseau’s vast gulf of time shrank to immediate spatial proximity on the Great Plains of nineteenth century America, as westward moving colonists encountered tribal peoples whose virtues were, in their own eyes, predicated upon their refusal to live sedentary and commercial lives. We will read testimony from the Crow, the Kiowa, and the Lakota, as they reflected upon the ethical superiority of their own cultures in the face of emergent American modernism. We will consider the degree to which their self-analysis is congruent with that of Rousseau and the Classical political theory he drew upon, and ask how the ongoing critique of modernity by indigenous American writers might find a more central place in critical theory. M. Payne. Winter.

40910. Sem: Archaeology of West-Greek Sanctuaries. (=SCTH 40900) A review of archaeological and literary materials relevant to the ancient cults of the Italian and Sicilian Greeks. Student reports. Consent of instructor required. This seminar prepares students for a research trip planned for the first three weeks of September 2011. C. Faraone, J. Redfield. Winter.

45300. Sem: Ancient Greek Amulets. This graduate seminar will investigate how the ancient Greeks used special words, images and materials to protect persons and places or to cure sick bodies. It will, for example, include detailed discussions of amulets against the evil eye, to control the wandering womb and to protect against snakes and scorpions. Special attention will be given to the so-called magical gemstones and to the "Lithika", ancient Greek treatises on the amuletic power and use of various gems. C. Faraone. Spring.

45710. Aristotle on Life. (=Phil 55710) The seminar will discuss Aristotle's views on life, the soul, organic unity, and the relationship between the animate and the inanimate. It will be devoted to a close reading of the second book of Aristotle's De Anima but will include relevant readings from throughout Aristotle's corpus. C. Frey. Spring.

46310. Sem: Greece: History and Politics I. (=Hist 70603) This two-quarter graduate seminar, which fulfils the seminar requirement for graduates in History and the Department of Classics' Program in the Ancient Mediterranean World, will examine the ways in which the Greek past has been used or abused for modern political purposes. Among the topics to be discussed will be: the supposed demise of Classical values; egalitarianism and the right to bear arms; the ethnicity of the ancient Macedonians; Thucydides and theories of international relations; sexuality and privacy issues; and the origins of democracy. The first quarter will be devoted to guided reading and discussion while the second quarter will be reserved for writing a major research paper. Students will also be permitted to enroll for just the first quarter by arrangement with the instructor. J. Hall. Autumn.

46311. Sem: Greece: History and Politics II. (=Hist 70604) This two-quarter graduate seminar, which fulfils the seminar requirement for graduates in History and the Department of Classics' Program in the Ancient Mediterranean World, will examine the ways in which the Greek past has been used or abused for modern political purposes. Among the topics to be discussed will be: the supposed demise of Classical values; egalitarianism and the right to bear arms; the ethnicity of the ancient Macedonians; Thucydides and theories of international relations; sexuality and privacy issues; and the origins of democracy. The first quarter will be devoted to guided reading and discussion while the second quarter will be reserved for writing a major research paper. Students will also be permitted to enroll for just the first quarter by arrangement with the instructor. J. Hall. Autumn.

Greek

21100/31100. Elegiac Poetry. This course is a study of poems composed over several centuries in elegiac and iambic meters. We will discuss these poems with a view towards their public and symposiastic contexts. We will seek answers to questions of genre and performance while concentrating on structure, imagery and meaning. Readings will include works by Archilochus, Callinus, Semonides, Hipponax, Solon, Theognis and Callimachus. S. Nooter. Autumn.

##21200/31200. Philosophy.PQ: Greek 206 or equivalent. Close reading of Plato's Phaedrus in the original, with some attention to associated texts--for instance, Isocrates' Against the Sophists and Demosthenes/Erotikos. J. Redfield. Winter.

##21300/31300. Tragedy.PQ: Greek 206 or equivalent. This course is an introduction to Aeschylean drama in general, seen through the special problems posed by one play. Lectures and discussions are concerned with the play, the development and early form of Attic drama, and philosophical material. Modern Aeschylean scholars are also read and discussed. C. Faraone. Spring.

25110/35110. Greek Scribes and Scholars. This course will examine how we come by our classical Greek texts. We will read the first textual scholars and grammarians and discuss the fundamentals of textual criticism. Students will get an introduction to Greek palaeography, read text and scholia in the Venetus A Iliad, and learn about Alexandrian scholarship on the texts and on the Greek language. Texts: Reynolds & Wilson, Scribes and Scholars; Dickey, Ancient Greek Scholarship. PQ: At least two years of Greek. H. Dik. Spring.

46610. Sem: Aeschylus and Classical Lyric Poetry. Tragedy has been called the "final, hybrid flower" of early Greek poetry. With this pseudo-evolutionary theory in mind, we will read through the oeuvre of Aeschylus and the later poets of the lyric tradition, focusing in particular on Simonides, Bacchylides, Pindar and Timotheus. Our aim is to explore cross-currents of influence in the fifth century between the earliest extant tragedies and the latest stage of the classical lyric tradition. Our focus will be on metrics, themes, and patterns of poetic language. S. Nooter. Winter.

Modern Greek

30100. Accelerated Elementary Modern Greek I. (=LGLN 11100, MOGK 10100) This course is designed to help students acquire communicative competence in Modern Greek and a basic understanding of its structures. Through a variety of exercises, students develop all skill sets. Autumn.

30200. Accelerated Elementary Modern Greek II. (=LGLN 11200, MOGK 10200) This course is designed to help students acquire communicative competence in Modern Greek and a basic understanding of its structures. Through a variety of exercises, students develop all skill sets. Winter.

Latin

21100/31100. Roman Elegy. We will read book 4 of Propertius. In addition, we will see what we can learn about Propertius' claim to be the Roman Callimachus from Ezra Pound's fashioning of an Anglo-American elegist in "Homage to Sextus Propertius". M. Payne. Autumn.

21200/31200. Roman Novel. We will read extensively from Apuleius' Metamorphoses, paying special attention to its relationship to the ancient traditions of metamorphosis literature. M. Payne. Winter.

21300/31300. Virgil. (FNDL 25201) Extensive readings in the Aeneid are integrated with extensive selections from the newer secondary literature to provide a thorough survey of recent trends in Virgilian criticism of Latin poetry more generally E. Asmis. Spring.

32700. Survey of Latin Literature I: Poetry. From Ennius to Martial. We will examine issues such as meter, interpretation and intertextuality. 1000 lines of weekly reading and quizzes. S. Bartsch. Autumn

32800. Survey of Latin Literature II: Prose. We shall read extended selections from prose writers of recognized importance to the Latin tradition. Our sampling of texts will emphasize writers of the Late Republic and Early Principate. M. Allen. Winter.

32900. Survey of Latin Literature III: Readings in the history of Latin literature. With emphasis on major trends in modern critical interpretations of the major figures. W. R. Johnson. Spring.

34400. Latin Prose Comp. PQ: Consent of instructor. This is a practical introduction to the styles of classical Latin prose. The course combines regular exercises in composition with readings from a variety of prose stylists. The course is intended to increase the students' awareness both of the classical artists' skill and their own command of Latin idiom and sentence structure. S. Bartsch. Autumn.

45410. Sem: Stoic Ethics. Launched a little after the death of Aristotle, the Stoic school of philosophy had a huge influence on ancient as well as modern thought. It was a very vibrant philosophical school, admitting much innovation and adaptation through the centuries. The Stoics are responsible for the first full-blooded theory of cosmopolitanism--the community of all human beings; and they held that humans can achieve a wisdom that is equal to that of god. This graduate seminar/advanced undergraduate course will investigate certain topics of Stoic ethics, in particular: fate and human responsibility; law and cosmopolitanism; the city of wise persons; the emotions; how to become happy; and how to deal with a Roman emperor. We will read texts by Cicero, Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, as well as excerpts from other authors. At least one year of ancient Greek is required. E. Asmis. Winter.